Oddly Enough News – Yahoo! Philippines News

Hamburgers for life reward to man who helped Ohio kidnap victims

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:43:29 +0800

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The man made famous for putting down his Big Mac to help free three women held captive for about a decade in a Cleveland house will never have to buy a hamburger in his hometown again. More than two weeks after Charles Ramsey became an instant folk hero after telling his story to television reporters, Cleveland food blogger Michelle Venorsky said on Thursday that 15 restaurants are offering him a free hamburger, whenever he wants it. Venorsky floated the idea to her followers after seeing Ramsey's first interview on TV. "He was so entertaining... ...

Norway crime novelist talks his way to live interview record

Fri, 24 May 2013 01:41:50 +0800

OSLO (Reuters) - Defying the stereotype of the tight-lipped Scandinavian, popular Norwegian crime writer Hans Olav Lahlum set the world record for the longest interview on Thursday after spending more than 30 non-stop hours chatting in an online broadcast. Lahlum, who rarely paused for more than a few seconds, discussed topics ranging from U.S. presidents to his fictional characters during the online show hosted by VG Nett, the online arm of Norwegian tabloid VG. The new record awaits approval from Guinness World Records. ...

Prosecutor in Berlusconi sex trial receives mail with bullets

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:27:44 +0800

MILAN (Reuters) - The prosecutor in former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's sex trial has received a series of anonymous letters of threats, including one with two bullets, Milan's chief prosecutor said on Thursday. The letters against Ilda Boccassini have become more frequent since she requested a six-year jail sentence and a lifetime ban on holding public office for Berlusconi, Edmondo Bruti Liberati said. ...

Relegation woes worry toothless Argentinos Juniors

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:13:38 +0800

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentinos Juniors, staring into the jaws of relegation, have had a set of false teeth thrown at their coach by an angry fan while the club's president has quit his seat at the Argentine FA. An irate fan threw a set of dentures at coach Ricardo Caruso Lombardi during Monday's 3-1 home defeat by Belgrano that left Argentinos bottom of the "Final" championship standings. The result pushed the club where Diego Maradona started his professional career closer to the bottom three places in the relegation table based on teams' average points over three seasons. ...

College student snares record long Burmese python near Miami

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:03:47 +0800

By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - An 18-foot, 8-inch Burmese python set a record for the longest snake ever captured in South Florida, where the exotic species has taken up residence. College student Jason Leon snared the female python in a rural area southeast of Miami earlier this month, when he saw part of it sticking out from brush along the roadside, said Carli Segelson, a spokeswoman for the state's Fish and Wildlife Commission. ...

Czech police seize 1 million liters of illegal booze

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:17:51 +0800

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech police found a million liters of illegal alcohol hidden in underground tanks in one of the biggest seizures of untaxed booze ever. Police have been chasing a widespread web of untaxed alcohol makers and distributors since a batch that included poisonous methyl alcohol killed 45 people and forced the government to ban all liquor sales for several weeks in September last year. ...

Chinese businessman pays record price for Belgian racing pigeon

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:35:41 +0800

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Chinese businessman has paid a world record 310,000 euros ($398,500) for a Belgian pigeon, highlighting Asia's huge and growing interest in racing birds. The one-year-old award-winning pigeon named Bolt was bred by Belgian pigeon fancier Leo Heremans, a well-known name to pigeon enthusiasts, who sold his entire collection of 530 birds for 4.3 million euros at an auction over the weekend. "You can compare it to artwork. A painting made by Picasso is worth more than one made by an unknown artist. ...

What's in a name? U.S. starts using Myanmar as well as Burma

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:34:54 +0800

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma received further backing from the White House on Monday in its campaign to be called Myanmar. Successive U.S. governments have refused to acknowledge the name change made in the late 1980s by the country's military rulers. The United States for years deliberately referred to the nation of 60 million people as Burma, so as not to give legitimacy to military governments. But in a nod to political reforms made by President Thein Sein, the White House acknowledged it is now employing the name Myanmar more often than before. ...

A gnome grows in Chelsea - at the flower show, that is

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:27:39 +0800

By Paul Casciato LONDON (Reuters) - Some spectators at London's Chelsea Flower Show wouldn't be caught dead with one in the trunk of their Bentley, but garden gnomes have turned up at the show's 100th edition this year, for charity. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which runs Chelsea in the grounds of the Christopher Wren-built Royal Hospital Chelsea, has lifted a ban on the ceramic figures with floppy hats and beards in order to raise funds for an RHS charity that supports the use of gardens in schools. ...

Marijuana waste helps turn pot-eating pigs into tasty pork roast

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:46:33 +0800

By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - With Washington state about to embark on a first-of-its-kind legal market for recreational marijuana, the budding ranks of new cannabis growers face a quandary over what to do with the excess stems, roots and leaves from their plants. Susannah Gross, who owns a five-acre farm north of Seattle, is part of a group experimenting with a solution that seems to make the most of marijuana's appetite-enhancing properties - turning weed waste into pig food. ...

Man climbs onto dome of St Peter's to protest Italian politics

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:50:24 +0800

ROME (Reuters) - A man climbed onto a ledge on the dome of St Peter's Basilica on Monday and unfurled a banner protesting against a "political horror show", an apparent reference to Italy's embattled coalition struggling with recession and high unemployment. Identified by police as Marcello Di Finizio, the man unfurled a white banner reading "Stop this massacre! The political horror show is continuing," in English, scrawled in black and red ink, with "Help us Pope Francis" in Italian. ...

Gandhi blood sample up for auction in London

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:10:01 +0800

LONDON (Reuters) - Two microscope slides bearing the blood of former Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi are to go on sale in London on Tuesday and are expected to fetch from 10,000 pounds to 15,000 pounds ($15,200-$22,800). The slides were obtained in 1924 when the father of the Indian independence movement was recovering from an appendectomy near Mumbai. He was thought to have donated the blood to the family he was staying with at the time. ...

Prague metro plans to launch love train for singles

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:45:22 +0800

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Rail passengers searching for love in the Czech capital need look no further than the daily commute as the city makes plans to designate carriages on its underground trains for singles. Prague transport company Ropid wants to set aside carriages on some or all of its trains for singles seeking a soul mate, a service that could launch by the end of this year. The city-owned company will start polling passengers to determine whether they would be interested. ...

Jon Stewart's humor a hit with millions of envious Chinese

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:39:37 +0800

By Jane Lee SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Humor may not always translate well, but Jon Stewart is picking up millions of fans in China, where his gloves-off political satire is refreshing for many in a country where such criticism is a rarity - especially when directed at their own leaders. A recent segment on North Korea scored over 4 million views on microblogger Sina Weibo, and even stodgy state broadcaster CCTV has used Stewart's "The Daily Show" in a report, though they wouldn't let a Chinese version of him near their cameras. ...

Winning ticket for $590.5 million Powerball lottery sold in Florida

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:23:19 +0800

By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A single winning ticket for a record Powerball lottery jackpot worth $590.5 million was sold in Florida, organizers said late on Saturday, but there was no immediate word about who won one of the largest jackpots in U.S. history. The winning numbers from Saturday night's drawing were: 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball number of 11. The odds of winning were put at 1 in 175 million. The winning ticket was sold at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, a suburb of Tampa, according to the Florida Lottery. ...

Germans blame euro zone crisis for Eurovision debacle

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:56:55 +0800

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans lamented their unexpectedly poor showing at the Eurovision Song Contest, blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel's tough stance in the euro zone crisis for their failure to win any points from 34 of the 39 countries voting. Denmark's Emmelie de Forest won the event, watched by around 125 million people across Europe, with 281 points while German act Cascada was 21st out of 26 countries, getting just 18 points from Austria, Israel, Spain, Albania and Switzerland. ...

Powerball jackpot could go higher than $600 million

Sun, 19 May 2013 06:37:03 +0800

By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Powerball jackpot Saturday night could exceed the $600 million figure being advertised, possibly rivaling the largest lottery payoff in U.S. history, a Texas Lottery official said on Saturday. "Oftentimes, the advertised amount is lower than what the actual jackpot ends up being," said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery. "It's entirely possible this $600 million jackpot will end up being a bigger jackpot. ...

Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:24:15 +0800

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

Canadian astronaut wrestles with gravity after spaceflight

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:59:14 +0800

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Back on Earth, Canadian astronaut and cyberspace tweeter Chris Hadfield is getting a rough re-introduction to gravity after a five-month stint aboard the International Space Station, the former commander told reporters during a video webcast from Houston. Hadfield became a social media rock star with his zero-gravity version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and a continuous stream of commentary on Twitter about his life in orbit. But living without gravity for five months has left him feeling dizzy, weak and prematurely aged. ...

Idaho man sentenced to seven years for killing zoo monkey

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:40:40 +0800

By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - An Idaho man who admitted to breaking into a Boise zoo last year and killing a monkey was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday, court records show. Michael Watkins, 22, of Weiser, Idaho, in March pleaded guilty to attempted grand theft, a felony, and misdemeanor animal cruelty stemming from the break-in and beating death of the monkey at Zoo Boise in November. The primate was one of the zoo's two Patas monkeys, ground-dwelling animals from Africa that stand more than 2 feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds. ...

From "bunga bunga" to "pianists" - Italy's political slang

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:55:56 +0800

By Naomi O'Leary ROME (Reuters) - An encyclopedia of Italian political slang has shone a light on a colorful and Byzantine world where lawmakers and journalists speak a language you won't find in any ordinary dictionary. The confusing nature of Italian politics has come to the fore in recent months, with an electoral result in which the leading party won the lower house but not the senate, a resulting two-month stalemate, and the final formation of a government led by none of the candidates who campaigned. ...

Parking meter 'Robin Hoods' provoke New Hampshire city's ire

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:29:09 +0800

By Jason McLure LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - In December James Cleaveland made an unusual New Year's resolution: to do all he could to keep police in the city of Keene, New Hampshire, from issuing parking tickets. Cleaveland and a group of friends took to the streets with pocketfuls of change and began shadowing the city's three parking enforcement officers, stuffing coins in expired meters before they could issue $5 tickets. ...

Turks see art as good investment but also path to prestige

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:49:41 +0800

By Asli Kandemir ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's contemporary art scene is buzzing. Collectors pay millions for the hottest works at exclusive auctions, high-end galleries are springing up by the dozen, and more and more Turkish artists are holding exhibitions abroad. The clients are the usual family magnates and super-rich - Istanbul ranks fifth in the world on the Forbes list of billionaires. But they also include an expanding class of young professionals looking for investment opportunities and a touch of prestige. ...

Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil dies after being hit by car

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:12:11 +0800

By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - A man less than two weeks into a planned journey to dribble a soccer ball from his home city of Seattle to Brazil, the host nation for the 2014 World Cup, died on Tuesday after being struck by a car in Oregon, police and the man's supporters said. Richard Swanson, 42, was struck as he walked on the shoulder of a road on the outskirts of Lincoln City just east of the Oregon coast, said Lincoln City Police Sergeant Randy Weaver. Swanson's soccer ball was found nearby, Weaver said. ...

U.S. justices play Shakespeare tragedy for laughs

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:11:28 +0800

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday evening sought laughs rather than legal clarity as they weighed a tragic case concerning a despotic Roman general and his overbearing mother. The three justices were taking part in a mock trial at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre based on William Shakespeare's "Coriolanus," a bleak tragedy set in ancient Rome that is currently being staged at the theater. It's an annual tradition for justices to participate in the event. ...